<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Equilibrium by bcbdrums</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25501246">Equilibrium</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bcbdrums/pseuds/bcbdrums'>bcbdrums</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kim Possible (Cartoon)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Developing Relationship, F/M, Hurricanes &amp; Typhoons, Light Angst, Rain, Romance</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 04:27:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,866</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25501246</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bcbdrums/pseuds/bcbdrums</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>He leaned forward and kissed her again, this time more softly. She met his lips hungrily and her glow went out a split second before her arms circled around him and up his back, her fingers pressing into his tense trapezius muscles. He couldn't help but meet her passion, and it was only the pounding of the rain that brought him back to the present in the close darkness.</p><p>"Shego... I love you."</p><p>She didn't answer.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dr. Drakken/Shego (Kim Possible)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Equilibrium</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothicthundra/gifts">Gothicthundra</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N:  Rainy cuddles for Leena.  This fic took unexpected turns... The characters would not cooperate.  Oh well.  </p><p>This is also for Drakgo prompt #4 on Tumblr (link coming later).  Enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>The hurricane raged outside the lair with a vehemence that Drakken was unused to. Just before the power went out, he'd seen on TV that it had been upgraded to Category 5. As he shined his flashlight ahead of him, he walked with atypical slowness and caution. Suddenly he was very aware of just how...frightening...his lair really was.</p><p>The thought gave him a swell of pride, but it wasn't enough to shake the unease he felt. Hearing only his footsteps echoing through the halls and their adjoining caverns when he was used to a constant hum of electricity and the buzz of fluorescent lights was very unnerving.</p><p>As he rounded the corner toward the den, he was surprised to see a glow indicating the fireplace was already alight. When he stepped into the room he peered around, finding it empty but for the cracks and pops of the coals.</p><p>"Shego?" he whispered.</p><p>"Boo!"</p><p>"GAAHHH!"</p><p>Drakken almost hit her in the face with the flashlight as she grabbed his shoulders from behind. He lurched forward and spun around at the same time, his arm swinging wildly, but Shego ducked as she cackled at him.</p><p>"Don't sneak up on me like that, Shego!"</p><p>"Whoa, why so jumpy?"</p><p>Thunder suddenly cracked, echoing down through the chimney. Shego looked toward the fireplace as Drakken cowered in place, clutching the flashlight to his chest.</p><p>Shego's gaze drifted back to him and her smirk returned. "Heheh. Need a trip to the little mad scientist's room, Dr. D.?"</p><p>A growl built inside Drakken's chest. "Nngh, zip it!"</p><p>She chuckled and stepped past him, patting his shoulder as she did so. Drakken turned and watched as she picked up a magazine from the end table and flopped into her usual chair, turning her back to the fireplace so she could read.</p><p>After a long moment of staring, Drakken turned off his flashlight and stalked to his desk. There was just enough firelight that maybe, he could work on some details of his latest weapon design.</p><p>Another crack of thunder sounded down the chimney. Drakken jumped again, but only knocked the flashlight off the desk. Shego lowered her magazine and frowned at him.</p><p>"Are you gonna do this all night?" she asked.</p><p>Drakken looked at her and merely blinked, too many thoughts racing through his head to process an answer. What happened if they ran out of firewood? What if the hurricane damaged the lair and they had to evacuate? <em>How</em> could they evacuate, given their current circumstances?</p><p>"Y'ello, Dr. D.? You still with me?"</p><p>Drakken started again and focused in on her, but words still wouldn't quite reach his lips... What if during their evacuation, the hover-car crashed into the ocean? What about the henchmen? There weren't enough vehicles for all of them.</p><p>Thunder boomed again.</p><p>"Ugh, if you're gonna be like this all night, I'm sleeping in my own room."</p><p>That snapped Drakken back into the present. He slowly sat down behind his desk and continued staring at Shego as she squinted through the firelight at her magazine.</p><p>He kept messing things up. First, he hadn't been attentive or affectionate enough and she'd thought he wasn't really that interested after all. Then, he'd been <em>too</em> affectionate and she found it strange and claustrophobic. He couldn't seem to find the balance.</p><p>He sighed. He picked up the flashlight and rose from the desk as he clicked it back on. It wasn't worth it to be abused by Shego while being terrified that they might die and he could do nothing to protect all of them.</p><p>He should just go to bed... If he died, he would rather it be in his sleep as opposed to waiting up for it to come. He started briskly toward the door.</p><p>"Drakken!"</p><p>He halted and cautiously glanced over his shoulder. Shego tossed her magazine to the floor.</p><p>"Come here."</p><p>His hand tightened on the flashlight as he slowly stepped towards her. He couldn't tell what her intentions were by the hard look on her face. It wasn't anger, or mocking...but there certainly wasn't anything kind about it.</p><p>He stopped two feet from the chair and watched her nervously as she stared up at him. After a moment she sighed and looked down with a scowl. She stood up and gestured harshly to the chair.</p><p>"Here. Sit."</p><p>Drakken hesitated. "...What for?"</p><p>"Because as much fun as I could have with it, I really don't want you sitting on my lap all night. You're kinda heavy."</p><p>Thunder boomed again and Drakken jumped before practically falling into the chair. Shego rolled her eyes and sat down half on his lap, and half on the remaining available cushion in the large chair. Drakken stared at her in surprise as she settled in, curling her legs up across his lap and putting her arms around him, the blank yet hard look back on her face.</p><p>She looked up at him and raised her brow.</p><p>"I thought you were mad at me?" Drakken asked as his hands cautiously settled on her shoulder and on her hip, the flashlight forgotten on the floor.</p><p>"I am," she said.</p><p>Drakken's face fell, his brow twisted in confusion.</p><p>"But...then why—?"</p><p>"Because otherwise this will probably go on for days. It's bad enough to have you ignoring me or smothering me. The last thing I need is you worrying I'm not interested anymore just because you're afraid of a little storm."</p><p>Drakken's eyes narrowed. "It's a Category 5 hurricane, Shego."</p><p>"We've been through hurricanes before."</p><p>"None this big or strong!" he protested. "Have you ever heard thunder like that before?"</p><p>At that moment, as if proving his point, a massive clap of thunder echoed down the chimney. Drakken grabbed Shego close to his chest as he stared at the fireplace.</p><p>The flames were being whipped by the wind that entered from above, and he noticed for the first time that the stone inside the fireplace was darkened where rainwater was dripping inside. As he listened to the whistle of wind, he saw as a smattering of raindrops were thrown against the inside of the fireplace. He also realized the fire was lower than it had been just a few minutes ago.</p><p>"The rain is getting inside," he said fearfully.</p><p>Shego pulled out of his tight grasp and turned to study the fire. Her eyes narrowed in calculation.</p><p>"Shego...if the lair is destroyed, I...I can't get you out."</p><p>She turned her intense gaze back to to his face and studied him.</p><p>"What?"</p><p>"We'll be trapped here."</p><p>"We have the hover-cars, and the boats."</p><p>"We can't use them in a hurricane! And if the lair is too badly damaged we'll be exposed to the elements. The cold, and the rain..."</p><p>Drakken was picturing it all in his mind<span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>he, Shego, and the henchmen clinging to rocky ruins for survival as lightning flashed and waves rose higher and higher around them.</p><p>"Dr. D."</p><p>Drakken refocused as Shego took his face in her hands.</p><p>"The lair isn't going to be destroyed."</p><p>"But what if it is? I won't be able to...won't be able to..." He stopped and swallowed down nervously on his next words, knowing she wouldn't like them.</p><p>"Won't be able to what?" she asked, her expression slightly less annoyed as the sound of driving rain became loud even through the thick stone walls of the lair. How could she not be even a little bit concerned?</p><p>"...Protect you," he said quietly.</p><p>Shego's brow rose. "Is that what this is about?"</p><p>There was another clap of thunder accompanied by a horrible, loud cracking sound. This time even Shego was startled, and her hands fell to Drakken's shoulders and gripped them tightly as he clung to her.</p><p>The firelight began flickering more intensely, and they both looked to see rain falling through the chimney and dousing the flames. Drakken's mind raced in fear again at the sheer impossibility of what he was seeing.</p><p>Shego suddenly stood and left his embrace, crossing the short distance to the fireplace and attempting to look up the flue.</p><p>"I think the wind destroyed part of the chimney. Or maybe lightning."</p><p>Drakken stood and moved to look with her, but he couldn't get as close to the fire due to the heat. But with the way rain was falling down onto the flames, it was a logical conclusion.</p><p>Suddenly there was a sound of running feet, and they both turned to see the entire cadre of henchmen rushing down the hall and stopping short at the entrance to the den, some of them comically crashing into the backs of others. They never entered their boss's more private areas of the lair without permission.</p><p>"What?" Drakken asked warily.</p><p>"The lower level is flooded," Jameson said breathlessly, gesturing back down the hall with his flashlight. Drakken noted the rather damp appearance of some of his henchmen, especially the ones out of uniform.</p><p>"How flooded?"</p><p>"About six inches across the entire floor and rising fast. We uh...we're gonna need a place to sleep."</p><p>Drakken bit down on a curse and glanced at Shego as he considered for a moment. "You can all use the living room. Did the spare blankets survive?"</p><p>"We got them!" two others chimed in, holding up large stacks of the folded blue articles.</p><p>"Good..." Drakken said, worrying again about the destruction of the lair.</p><p>"Post a watch," Shego said, stepping up next to Drakken. "If the water level gets too high we'll need to know about it."</p><p>The henchmen all nodded their agreement and left with anxious mutterings over their residence and personal belongings.</p><p>Drakken crossed back to Shego's chair, setting his hand on its high back as he sighed. The lair had never flooded before. If they survived, it would need extensive repairs, and the henchmen would need a new temporary residence...if they all survived. If the hurricane moved fast enough, it was possible, but the last news broadcast he'd seen before the power outage suggested it was moving slowly.</p><p>"Doc?"</p><p>He jumped slightly at the feel of Shego's hand on his shoulder. He turned to see that her annoyance had faded, and her eyes were compassionate.</p><p>"We're gonna be fine."</p><p>Drakken felt his nerves beginning to calm at the soft, reassuring look in her eyes. And then the fire went out.</p><p>He was suddenly aware that the sound of rain had become a roar overhead. Clearly the chimney had been damaged in some capacity, and rain was falling freely into the fireplace, cooling the hot coals.</p><p>Drakken's heart pounded. Did he want to die stumbling around in the dark in a futile attempt to save everyone, or die in his bed, falling asleep to the deceptive lure of the rain?</p><p>"Drakken?"</p><p>A green glow illuminated the space between them and lit up her face in ominous shadow, despite the soft look she still wore.</p><p>"I'll go turn the generator on. Then we can figure out where to put the henchmen for a few days until the storm has passed."</p><p>"Do you have a death wish? The generator is on the lower level!" he protested.</p><p>Shego pursed her lips. He recognized that she wanted to be annoyed, but her patience was atypically winning the day.</p><p>"I want <em>you</em> to stop freaking out," she said calmly, though he knew agitation was just beneath the surface.</p><p>Drakken swallowed anxiously and shook his head. "You can't go down there."</p><p>He watched her fight the urge to roll her eyes.</p><p>"Fine... You wanna just go to bed, then?"</p><p>Drakken remembered her annoyed words from before about sleeping in her own room and weighed them against all of her unusually generous actions since. But his fear still won out.</p><p>"We could just...sit here, for awhile?" he suggested. He would rather be with her through the crisis than alone in his bed.  Especially if they were going to die.</p><p>She lifted a single, knowing eyebrow. Since when was she able to read him so well? He quickly sat down in her chair.</p><p>"Come on," he said, trying to smile as he opened his arms to her.</p><p>Shego did finally roll her eyes as she settled back into his lap, cuddling closer than she had before. She kept her hand lit so they could see each other, and Drakken realized then looking into her eyes that he had nothing and everything to say to her.</p><p>"What?" Shego asked, her expression quirking into a slight grimace.</p><p>The words 'I love you' were on his lips, but he held them back. He was concerned she wouldn't take him seriously given the situation. And he didn't want to risk annoying her further.</p><p>"If...the lair is destroyed, where would you like to live?" he said instead.</p><p>Her brow rose and she looked thoughtful, yet...distant. He let his breath out silently, though his relief was faint. She was becoming increasingly more difficulty to read.</p><p>He supposed he had expected things to change more quickly after they had gotten together. But he hadn't exactly made any proposals...of the permanent <em>or</em> temporary nature. And she slept in her own room as often as she came to his.</p><p>That factor was a large source of his confusion. It was a question every night: would she come to bed with him, or go to her own room? He had assumed that after they became intimate she would just stay with him all the time. But after returning from the lab one night to find his bed empty...and then getting a tongue-lashing for waking her up when asking why she was in her own bed, he realized...he had presumed too much.</p><p>That night was when she'd aloofly revealed that she thought he wasn't that interested.  His desperate response of being overly attentive in the following days hadn't made things better, and she'd told him pretty quickly that she didn't want him at her elbow every second of every day, either. When that conversation had turned into an argument and he'd asked just what she wanted from him, she'd made him promise to 'just act normal.' Whatever on earth that meant. He had no idea.</p><p>The result had been distance between them. For the most part, she acted toward him as she always had. Except for the times she decided she wanted him in bed. And her sudden seeming compassion that evening concerning his hurricane fears. Even if she had scared him earlier.</p><p>The emotional see-saw was more distressing than the hurricane.</p><p>"Well, you have plenty of lairs already..."</p><p><em>'You.'</em>  She'd not said 'we,' but 'you'...</p><p>"What if...we get someplace new? Where would you like it to be?" he asked, a sudden desperation coming over him.</p><p>Shego blinked at him twice in the dim green light, and then she looked away.</p><p>"I dunno..." she said with an off-handed shrug.</p><p>Drakken tried to swallow down the lump that was coming to his throat. Was she trying to put him off? He wanted to press about the lair, but he was afraid of where the conversation might lead. He looked at the way her eyes fairly glowed in the light of her...glow. And how distant and almost sad she suddenly looked.</p><p>"Shego...?"</p><p>She looked back at him in question.</p><p>"If you could do anything right now...what would it be?"</p><p>She blinked in surprise and stared at him. Outside, the rain continued pouring and filling the room with a strange cascading echo. The smell of damp ash and soot reached Drakken's nose as he waited.</p><p>Shego took a breath, and then held her hand higher and extended her fingers.</p><p>"Paint my nails. That's what I was going to do when the power went out."</p><p>Drakken sighed silently through his nose. Was she just putting him off, or was it a sign that she was losing interest as he feared? He wished he could read her more easily...</p><p>"Why, Doc?"</p><p>He focused back in as a smirk began to spread across her face.</p><p>"Have something else in mind? We could go...'cuddle'...in your bed, instead."</p><p>Drakken's face flushed. "Well, ah..."</p><p>"The moat lights will be out... We've never done it without any light. Could be dangerous," Shego continued, leaning in closer to his face.</p><p>Drakken felt his heart beat harder at her suggestion. The idea was tempting...</p><p>"This is nice too," he said, sliding his arms further around her and smiling warmly. Shego blushed and her eyes darted away into the darkness. Drakken's brow rose.</p><p>Were her advances...an attempt to avoid a more serious conversation?  The more he was worrying about it all...the more determined he found himself becoming. He needed to know exactly what their relationship was. And with the power outage and the hurricane trapping them, he may never get a better chance. Or...another chance.  She had no excuse <em>not</em> to talk with him, at least.  However<span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span></p><p>"It could be nicer..." Shego said in a murmur, letting her glow go out and plunging them into darkness. A moment later, her lips were on his neck just beneath his jaw.</p><p>Drakken's breath caught. He leaned his head back against the chair and found his thoughts starting to evaporate into the darkness, still alive with the sound of rain. It occurred to him suddenly that the thunder had stopped, but that thought too was yanked away from him by the feeling of his lover's lips on his neck.</p><p>"Wait..." he said huskily, remembering his purpose. He lurched out of her kiss, perhaps too abruptly.</p><p>Shego's hand lit up the space again. Her expression was seductive. He blinked, his train of thought vanishing again... And then he shook his head and brought his hands to her shoulders as he sat forward.</p><p>"Shego... Do you want to be with me?"</p><p>Shego's sultry smirk vanished in an instant. She blinked rapidly in her confusion, and then she swallowed once. The smirk began to return, though it was less confident.</p><p>"I would think that's obvious..." she said, leaning forward to kiss his his lips. He held up his hand between them to stop her. Her brow rose, and she leaned back in annoyance. "Well sheesh, I can just go to bed," she said, starting to stand.</p><p>Drakken grabbed her shoulders firmly and kept her in place.</p><p>"Rrngh, let go!"</p><p>"No, Shego... First...I'm ignoring you. Then, I'm crowding you. Now...you're mad at me one minute, and you're all over me the next."</p><p>Her eyes narrowed.  "You're delusional," she said flatly.</p><p>"You're<span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span> But you<span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">— </span></span>...Nghh, you're confusing me!"</p><p>A tense silence hung between them, broken only by the driving rain. Without the fire the room had quickly become chilled, and despite the argument he had started Drakken was grateful for her warmth in his lap.</p><p>Shego finally sighed and broke eye contact, an almost melancholy falling over her expression. "You need to pay more attention, Doc."</p><p>"That's why I'm asking," he said, finding his voice suddenly shaky.</p><p>"I thought you were worried about the hurricane," she said, trying to stand up again. Drakken pulled her back down hard and she fell into his chest. She frowned, but he put his arms around her and held her tightly.</p><p>"Why won't you choose somewhere for a new lair?" Drakken heard leave his lips. He mentally scowled at himself. Why couldn't he just spit it out?</p><p>"You have lots of lairs! You pick one."</p><p>"I want you to choose one!"</p><p>"Ugh, fine. Timeshare. Done."</p><p>"No, a <em>new</em> lair! Someplace you'd like."</p><p>"Why?" she asked with a slight grimace.</p><p>Drakken hesitated, and then swallowed his nerves. "Because I want someplace that's ours!"</p><p>Shego's brow rose. "...What do you mean?"</p><p>Drakken took a deep breath and plunged forward. "You keep calling the lair 'mine.' I think of them all as ours but...if you don't, we'll get a new one that really <em>is</em> ours."</p><p>Shego's lips parted and she seemed, for once, to be searching for something to say.</p><p>"...No need to get all sappy just because we sleep together, Doc," was what she finally came up with, dismissing his words with an eye-roll.</p><p>Drakken pursed his lips, and then impulsively leaned forward and kissed her soundly. She gave a hum of surprise, but kissed him back with equal passion for several seconds until he pulled away.</p><p>"No, it's time we talked about this," he insisted. "You can't just put me on this...emotional see-saw and leave me there alone."</p><p>Shego raised an eyebrow. "A see-saw only works with two people."</p><p>"You know what I— No, that's the problem! You keep changing your mind about us. You won't tell me what you want."</p><p>Shego glanced away, her eyes immediately becoming troubled. Drakken studied her, his mind racing and trying to get one step ahead of her. Everything had been fine when they first got together, until his unwitting lack of attention to her. Clearly he was still making mistakes, or else he would know exactly where they stood. And she wouldn't go back to her room so often...</p><p>He leaned forward and kissed her again, this time more softly. She met his lips hungrily and her glow went out a split second before her arms circled around him and up his back, her fingers pressing into his tense trapezius muscles. He couldn't help but meet her passion, and it was only the pounding of the rain that brought him back to the present in the close darkness.</p><p>"Shego... I love you."</p><p>She didn't answer.</p><p>"T-turn the light back on," he fairly gasped as he tried to catch his breath from the kiss.</p><p>A moment of silence passed, and he wondered if she wasn't going to comply. But then the familiar glow from her hand illuminated their faces in green again.</p><p>"I love you, Shego." Why did she look so nervous? They had said it before.</p><p>"I know," was her answer a moment later, her eyes not quite focusing on his.</p><p>Drakken's heart leapt to his throat. Had her feelings changed...? Had he made so many mistakes that she had decided not to bother with him? And just make their relationship something...temporary?</p><p>"Shego..." His heart was pounding. "Do you still love me?"</p><p>Her eyes, fairly glowing in the light of her power, centered in on his. She looked slightly annoyed.</p><p>"Yes."</p><p>"Then...what's wrong?"</p><p>As she stared back at him in silence and seeming confusion his anxiety rose evermore. The seconds were passing too slowly and too quickly all at once, and he almost immediately ran out of patience.</p><p>"I'm sorry I don't know how to do any of this. I've never been in a relationship before. Please, Shego...whatever I did wrong this time, I didn't do it on purpose. Just tell me and...I'll fix it. If you...if you can be patient with me, I promise I'll fix it." He paused to swallow nervously as her eyes were now examining his face, thoughtful, and a bit cautious. "Maybe a...a new lair can be a fresh start. And you can tell me all the things I should and shouldn't be doing, and—"</p><p>Shego's free hand suddenly covered his mouth. He looked into her eyes.</p><p>"Dr. D.... Did you ever consider...you're the one leaving me on an emotional see-saw?"</p><p>Drakken's brow rose. Had he...?</p><p>He thought back and tried to consider everything from her perspective. His habits hadn't changed in terms of his work in the lab...which she interpreted as him not being interested. Or...did she think he was only interested in one thing? And then, she could have viewed his smothering affections as fake overcompensation. And since he didn't know what her request of 'just be normal' meant, he had been tiptoeing around her for days...and had probably been anything but normal.</p><p>He took a deep breath through his nose as he realized...she may in fact be as clueless as he was. What made him assume she knew how to do relationships either? He cleared his throat, and her hand slowly lowered from where it covered his mouth.</p><p>"Shego... I want you to choose a place for...<em>our</em> new lair. And...if that one gets destroyed, you can choose the next one. And the one after that. Because...I can work almost anywhere, but I know you have particular tastes and...I want you to be happy."</p><p>Shego stared at him, studying him again as if searching for an ulterior meaning to his words. Finally, she sighed and her gaze fell.</p><p>"See-saw, Doc..." Her voice was slightly shaky, which surprised him.</p><p>Drakken very nearly said that she could be more up front with her feelings too, but...it wasn't the time to assign blame. He wanted her. And if she wasn't sure of that, as he now suspected, he'd make her sure. And they could go from there.</p><p>"Shego..." He let one arm go from his tight hold on her and brought it forward to hold her hand. "I want you with me forever."</p><p>Her lips parted...but then came together as her brow furrowed slightly.</p><p>"And...?"</p><p>Drakken swallowed and glanced away nervously. He knew what he wanted to say... What he needed to say.  And it seemed that before the words were even spoken, she knew they were coming... Maybe it was what had been missing all along. Or at least...it was a start.</p><p>"Shego..." He swallowed again. Her gloved fingers tightened on his, and the thundering of the rain outside was eclipsed by his heart pounding in his ears. "I want you to marry me. That is...will you? Marry me?"</p><p>He had only a moment to see her smile before the glowing green light went out and she flung her arms around his neck, holding him tightly.</p><p>Drakken choked slightly, but she didn't loosen her grip. He felt as if light and heat were racing through his veins as he returned her hug. He heard and felt her sigh, her frame shaking slightly in his embrace, but the sound was one of pure happiness.</p><p>"Is that a yes?" he finally asked quietly.</p><p>She slowly pulled out of the hug and her hand ignited again. There was a smirk on her lips, but delight in her eyes.</p><p>"Do you...really mean it?" she asked, glancing away shyly for a moment and chuckling. Her hand on his neck began playing with his hair.</p><p>Drakken took a breath. For a moment he was lost in her eyes, in the hope and the joy she was suddenly displaying openly<span class="ILfuVd"><span class="hgKElc">—</span></span>such a contrast to her guarded, sarcastic persona.</p><p>Were those words really all that had been missing?</p><p>"I love you," he said as he leaned toward her. "And I want you forever."</p><p>His face was but a breath from hers as he spoke. She barely gave him a chance to finish before her lips were on his, and all his worries faded instantly at the tenderness of her touch. The green ambience vanished and Shego's hand found his cheek, cupping it gently as he leaned back into the chair and pulled her tightly against him.</p><p>For all the weeks they'd been together, and all the kisses and deeper intimacies they'd shared, this kiss was different. It was a kiss of reckless abandon, as finally they each knew without a doubt. What they had together was far more than lust. They had a promise of forever. And it sent Drakken's blood racing.</p><p>His hands pressed into her shoulders as he kissed her back, and when his tongue slid deftly against hers a lusty hum sounded from within her throat. Compelled, he pulled his lips from hers and fastened them to her throat in the small space between her jaw and her suit collar. One of his hands wove into her hair, and she gasped at the sudden, seductive touch.</p><p>"Oh, Drakken..." she sighed. She sank against him, almost limp in his arms. But then she pulled away slightly and Drakken's lips left her throat as her hand illuminated the darkness again. He stared at her large, smiling eyes in the space between them as their chests heaved. "I love you," she said, her cheeks coloring. Her gaze dropped shyly for a moment before she put her arms around him again and murmured into his ear in the resulting darkness. "And I want to be your wife."</p><p>Drakken was overcome, in more ways than one. His trembling fingers gripped her arms tightly as he placed a careless kiss on her cheek.</p><p>"Bed?" he asked quickly, breathlessly.</p><p>"Mmh... This is nice too," she countered, echoing his words from before. She curled into his chest and rested her forehead against his cheek. "But soon."</p><p>He leaned his head against hers, focusing on the softness of her hair as he tried to catch his breath. The rain still pouring outside and chill in the air helped his racing blood settle, but the flame in his heart he knew would only grow. They had found their equilibrium.</p><p>As much as he hoped the moment would last forever...he also hoped 'soon' really meant soon.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>